cameron



May 26, 1931. w. CAMERON AUTOMATIC STOP MECHANISM Filed Feb. 18, 1928 5Sheets-Sheet l May 26, 1931. w. CAMERON AUTOMATIC STOP MECHANISM FiledFeb.. 18, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 26, 1931. w. CAMERON AUTOMATIC STOPMECHANISM Filed Feb. is, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet s lnl/eilfor M y 6, 1931.w. CAMERON AUTOMATIC STOP MECHANISM Filed Feb. 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 May 26,1931. w. CAMERON AUTOMATIC STOP- MECHANISM Filed Feb. 18. 1928 5Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented May 26, 1931 tsetse-e UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE,

OF ILLINOIS AUTOMATIC STOP MECHANISM I Application-filed Eebruary'IS,1928. Serial 1105255229.

This invention. relates in general to metal working machines andmoreparticularly to a mechanism for automatically stopping such amachine when more than one or an GXCGS sively thick blank is fedthereto.

' I am aware that machines of the above type have been in use employingmechanism for automatically stopping a press or other machine in theevent one of the sheets or blanks being fed is warped or bent. Howeversuch machines are incapable of taking care of a contingency wherein morethan one blank is being fed at'a time because of the relative thinnessof the blanks and the resultant slight movement given to the stopmechanism by the additional blank or blanks.

The primary object of this invention is therefore to provide anautomatic stop mechanism for use in connection with a machine of theabove type which prevents the feeding of more than one blank at a timeand other false operations or defective conditions which would in themachines used heretofore, result in an ineffective initial movementdelivered to the stop mechanism by reason of the slight abnormality inthe thickness of the material being fed.

Other and further objects of this invene tion will become apparent asthe same becomes better understood from an examination ofthe'specification and'claims in connection with the accompanyingdrawings wherein i Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an automati c die pressof the type illustrated anddescribed in connection with my copendingapplication Serial No. 14,624 filed 'March 11," 1925 and alsoillustrated in connection with my prior Patent No. 1,477,240 of December11, 1923 showing a preferred form of the'invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional elevation showing the feed channeland parts of the automatic stop mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged detail section taken at the line 33 ofFig. 2; f

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the portion of the device shown in Fig. 2;I

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation partly in section and partlybroken away of mechanism shown in Fig.

tion 'of the afore-mentioned parts clearly understood from my priorPatent No.'

a blank feeding mechanism of a type adapted to be used for feedingblanks to various forms of metal working machines, for instance, acanbody making machine.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the Fig. 7 is a fragmentaryvertical transverse sectional view of the mechanism shown in Figs. 5 and6 with parts in elevation;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary detail vertical longitudinal section with partsin elevation showing the movement of the stop mechanism imparted theretowhen more than one sheet is fed. Referring to the drawings moreparticularly; 1'

The machine illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive comprises generally aframe 8 provided near its top with suitable bearings 9 in which the mainpower shaft 11 is journaled.

The shaft 11 is suitably driven and provided tin or other material to beoperated upon indicated at 14 are disposed in a pile in the inclinedmagazine or support 15 from which they arelifted in succession by aseries of suction cups (not shown) into alignment with the feed c hannelor'slot whereupon they are moved laterally edgewise into this channel bysuitable transferring devices 16. The operawill be 1,277,342 grantedAugust 27, 1918 and my afore-mentioned copending application.

The magazine 15' is integrally mounted on, or connected to a frame part20 which i11- cludes a guideway and carries a suitable feeding devicefor advancing the blank or sheet after it has been fed into position inthe channel or groove. This feeding device consists of a feed bar 17having a plurality of pivoted feed dogs 18 and capable of being reciprocated by a cross head 19- which is actuated from the power shaftof themachine by means WILLIAM CAMERON, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, assrenon 'roCAMERON eAn MACHINE Y 00., on cnrcneo', ILLINOIS, A conronnrron ofconnections generally designated as 21. The frame part 20 includes abottom or table plate 22 having a channel 23 in the lower portionthereof for receiving attaching bolts 24 of a bracket 25 \VlllCll 15mounted on the platein fixed position but adapted to be adjusted shouldoccasion require by reason of said bolts cross section whereby, when thebolts are tightened by means of nuts on their respec-- tive outer endsthe bracket is firmly held in position but when the nuts are loosenedlateral displacement of the bracket is permitted. The bracket 25 isprovided with a pair of pro.- jecting pivot arms 26 between which alever 27 is pivoted intermediately of its ends as at 28.

The upper end of the lever 27 is split to provide jaws 29 between whichan adjustable thumb screw 31 is threaded. This thumb screw can be fixedsecurely in position. by tightening the jaws 29 by means ofa screw 32connecting them together. The thunlbscrew 31 is adjusted to engage amovable wall of the feed slot whereby it may transmit the move ment ofsaid wall to the lever 27; to stop the press as will be hereinafterexplained.

The bracket 25 below the point where it engages the bottom plate ortable 22 is provided .with a circular hole for seating a spiuaLspiing33. The spring 33 engages in a recess 34,. in the lower end of the lever27 whereby it; may normally urge. saidlower end outwardly.

The lower end of the bracket 25 is provided with a pair of arms 35 for.supporting a;bell crank lever 36. One end of the lever 36, is yieldablyheld against a ball portion 375011 the lower end of. the lever 27 bymeans of a spring 38 connecting the othenend of, said bell crank leverand the bracket 25, The lat ter end of the bell crank lever. 36,isprovided with a hook portion 39 normally in engagement with a pawl 41pivotally carried by the bracket 25.

By reference to Fig. 1 of the drawinghand lever 42 together withassociated mechanism for starting and stopping the press is shown indotted lines. The hand lever 42- is fixedly mounted on a shaft 43vandhas .ainextens-ion 44 pivotally connected with av link45. The mechanismshown indotted lines in the; drawing whereby the handle 42 may stop thepress is substantially the same as shown in, my United States LettersPatent No. 1,477,240. On the shaft 43 at the opposite side thereof fromthe handle 42 is mounted a bell crank lever 46 the upper end of whichispivotally connected at the point 47 with one-end of an adjustableconnecting rod 48. The other end of the rod 48 is pivotally connected tothe pawl 41 and the other end of the lever 46 is connected to a spring49 attachedto the frame whereby the shaft 43 may beactuated to stop thepress when said pawl is released.

The movable wall 51 of-the feed. slotis The channel 23 is of T-shapeclmounted above the feed bar 17 and is carried by shoulders 52 and 53. Theshoulder 52 is formed on the frame part 20 above the table 22 and theshoulder 53 is formed on an oiling device 54 mounted on the opposite endof said frame. Theoiling device 54 is of the type described in myafore-mentioned copending application. The wall 51 is provided at oneend with a suitable handle for removing the wall from its operativeposition when desired.

This removable wall 51 has a groove 55 extending longitudinallythereofon its under-face to allowsuflicient clearance for the feed dogs18 so that the latter may be oscillated to engage the rear, edge of ablank in the feed channelswhereby the dogs may feed theblank forwardateach step a distance equal to the distance betweenltwo of the-dogs.

The wall;51isso'positioncd as to provide the feed slot 56 between saidwall and {the upper surface of the table 22 for the admission of. ablank 14.; The inner-end-of the screw 31 is adjusted to. a positionwhereby outwardmovement of theplateor wall 51 because of bucklingor=th.e like will. cause actuationof the lever 27: which will in turnactuate the 1bell, crank 36 toirelease the pawl 31 and automaticallystop the press as previously-explained.- The aforedescribed parts. i andthe operation thereof for automatically stoppingthepress in theevent/ofa distortionof the :plate 14 have been described in connection with=myafore-said copendingappli'catiom;

It is desirable however to stop the press automatically not only in theevent. of an abnormality such as. a. distortedxor buckled blankibeinfed. but also/in the event. of, two or moreiblanks being fed at the sametime. Because the blanks ordinarily used, particularly in the can makingindustry arerelatively thin the presence of: an extra-blank in the slot56 would not ordinarily cause the wall-51 to'move sufficiently tostopthe press. unless atleast one of the; blanks were. distorted orbuckled.

In order that the press may be automatically'stopped in the event oftwoblanks being fed, I provide iniaddition totheaforedescribed parts,upwardly. directed exten sions 5T on;the arms 26 between theaipper endsof which a. link 58is pivotally mounted. The link'58 isv provided at itsinner end with a semi-spherical projection.59 spaced from the lower wallof the feed slot 56 justsufiiciently'to accommodatea single blankbetween the wall and the member 59. A. link 61 connects the inner endof. the link 58. with the lever 36 530 that swinging movement of theinner'enddownwardly, will cause the lever 36 to release the pawl. 41 and automatically stop the press as hasbeen explained.

In;0rder to provide'for a fine regulation and adjustment of thespacingof the mem- 139 desired position by clamping bolts 6% ber 59 from thelower wall of the feed slot 56, the pivot pin 62- 3) from which the"link 58 is suspended is eccentric-ally formed between its bearings asindicated at 60. Angular adjustment of the pin will therefore regulatethe spacing of the member 59 from the opposite wall of the feed slot.Adjustment of the pin may be accomplished by a wrench or tool shaped tofit the squared head 63 of the pin whichis locked hp the ac apt ed tocompress the split hearing within which the pin is mounted The member 59is normally spaced away from the opposite wall of the feed slot tdistance only very slightly in excess of the thickness of a single blankbeing fed. Shouldtwo blanks instead of one be accidentally fed into theslot the entering edge of the upper blank will strike against the member59 and as it is shoved inwardly by the transferers the link 58 will beswung in a counterclockwise direction viewing 2 and thru the link 61 thelever 36 will be rocked to release the pawl 41 and cause the .press tobe stopped.

In Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive there is shown a construction wherein thisinvention is applied to a blank feeding machine of the type illustratedand described in connection with my prior Patent N 0. 1,283,659 ofNovember 5, 1918. Referring to these figures it will be observed thatthe machine includes a frame portion 65. While the machine may be of anytype adapted to'operate upon sheet metal blanks it is illustrated inthese figures as a can body forming machine the frame of which is shapedto provide a slideway 66 upon which the blanks are fed to the bodyforming mechanism (not shown). The blanks are fed from a magazinedesignated generally by reference character 67 along the slideway bymeans of reciprocating feed bars 68 provided with a plurality of feeddogs 69 pivotally and yieldably mounted upon the feed bar so that theirrear ends engage with the successive sheets and feed them toward theoperating mechanism in a step by step movement in a well known manner.

Mounted on the frame at the inner end of the guideway 66 is a switch box71 from which projects a pivotally mounted arm 72. The arm 72 isarranged so that in its normal position it is 90 from the plane of theguideway 66. The outer and free end of the arm 72 is provided with aroller7 3 which normal- 1y extends to the level of the guideway 66. Onthe frame above the justably mounted a considerably larger roller 74 theperiphery of which extends to within the thickness of a blank of thelevel of the gui-dewa-y. The guideway 66 is provided with a depression75 which extends on either side of the rollers 73 and 7 4- whereby whenmore than one blank is being fed the blanks way on being contacted byroller 73 there is admaybe forced downwardly by the roller 74' to bringthe lowermost blank or blanks in contact with the roller 73 causing thearm 72 to be actuated about its pivot. The radius and position of thearm 72 is such as to give the roller 73 when so contacted considerablelinear movement in a circular path substan tially in the plane ofthe'advancing blanks and in the direction of movement thereof.

The mounting for the roller 7 4 is adj use able to permit the peripherythereof to be adjusted toward and away from the level of the guideway toaccommodate different thicknesses of blanks which may be desired-to befed. The roller 74 is mounted on a pin 70 which like the pin 62 iseccentrically formed and angularly adjustable. It also may be locked inadjusted position by clamping bolt-s 80. 7 Since the roller 73 issupported to move substantially in the direction of the guidean abnormalnumber of blanks considerable movement is imparted to the stopmechanism.This permits the arm 72 to actuate a switch which is released when saidarm is actuated. This switch includes a double contact element or blade76 carried by the arm 7 2and adapted when the arm is in normal positionto close contacts 77 in circuit with the driving motor of the machine. Acompression spring 78 yieldably holds the arm 72 in normal position.Thus when more than one blank is fed the 1 arm 72 will be actuated to.open the switch of the driving motor and automatically stop themachine.

The operation of the afore-descrihed embodiments of my invention will beclearly understood from the above description when taken inconsideration with the disclosures in my prior patents.

' It willbe apparent that by supporting the member adapted to becontacted by the abnormal number of blanks in a manner whereby saidmember moves substantially in the direction of the moving blanks insteadof at right angles as heretofore, the stop mechanism has impartedthereto suflicient initial movement to permit its operation regardlessof the relative thinness of the blanks.

I am aware that many changes may be made and many details ofconstruction varied without departing from the principles of thisinvention and I therefore do notwish to belimited to the vdetails shownor described.

I claim: 1. In a machine-for operating upon blanks thecombination ofmeans for feeding blanks edgewisc, a detector mounted to swing in annormally positioned so that aline intersecting said pivot and the pointof the detector nearest the path of travel of the blanks will beperpendicular tovsaid path of travel, and means rendered operable byswingingmovement oii' said detector away from normal position under theinfluence of said advancing blank for stopping said machine.

2. In a-machine for operating upon blanks the combination of means forfeeding blanks edgewise in a predetermined path, pivotally mounted meansnormally positioned in pro imity to said path andinounted so as-to beimmovablefrom normal position in a plane perpendicular to the path butmovable substantially parallel with said path, under the influence ofadvancingblanks, and means operable by said movement for stoppingthemachine. I

3. In a machine for operating upon blanks, the combination of means forfeeding blanks edgewise, a feed-way including a fixed memher along whichthe blanks are fed, a detector comprising a pivotally mounted membernormally disposed a predetermined distance from said fixed member andimmovable from normal positionin a plane perpendicular to said fixedmember, said detector being adapted to swing bodily about said pivotaway; from normal p-ositioinand means rendered operable by said swingingmovement under the influence ofan advancing blank for stopping themachine.

4. In a machine for operation upon blanks, the combinationcomprisingmeans for moving a blank edgewise, a detector having a blankcontacting-eXtremity, said detector being pivoted at a point laterallyremoved from the path of travel of said blanks andextendingsubstantially transversely of said path, said contacting,extremity lyingin the path of asurplus blank and displaceabletherebysubstantially in the direction of blanktravel, and means controlled bysaid movement of said contacting extremity for stopping the machine,

5. In blank feeding-mechanism, the combination-comprising means forfeedingblanks edge-wise, a detector havinga blank vcontacting extremitysupported to lie across the path of travel of a surplus blank and tobeope-ratively engagedthereby but inoperative upon normal blank feeding,means for movably mounting said detector and contacting extremity sothat the latter will, be bodily displaced by and carried with saidsurplus blank substantiallyin its direction of travel, andmachinecontrolling means actuated by the bodily movement of saidcontacting extremity under the travel of a surplus blank.

6. In a machine for operating upon blanks, the combination of means foradvancing blanks along a predetermined path, a fixed member at onesideof said path, a movable member at the opposite side of said patharranged to lie across the path of travel of a surplus blank and mountedto-move bodily .inian arc towhich said path-is tangent,.and

means rendered operable by the bodily di, placement of said movablemember under the influence of an advancing surplus blank for stoppingthe advance of said blank.

7. In a machine for operating upon blanks, the combination of means foradvancing blanks along,a-predeterminedpath, a pivoted arm disposedsubstantially perpendicular with the planeof advancing blanks with itsfree end in position to be engaged and positively displaced by excessiveblanks and to be moved along with said blanks, and means renderedoperable by movement of said arm for stopping the operation'ofsaidadvancing means.

In witness of theforegoing I affix my signature.-

W'ILLIAM CAMERON.

